This cleverly crafted book presented in three timelines, with a minimal cast of characters, was both a joy and a shock to my system.
What began as a lighthearted story twisted into a survival manual for the main character. Fans of Eleanor Oliphant and Bernadette should find Amazing Grace Adams right up their reading alley.

Thank you to Net Galley and Henry Holt for the advanced copy.

Grace is having one of those horrible, no-good, very bad days, and when stuck in complete gridlock London traffic while trying to pick up a birthday cake for her estranged 16-year-old daughter has a bit of a breakdown. She abandons her car in the middle of the road and heads off on foot in a bit of a misguided quest to win back her daughter's affections, with quite the physical and emotional roller-coastering along the way. The story is actually told in chapters that alternate among 3 timelines: Grace's current very bad day; 4 months ago when Grace's difficulties with her surly began, her divorce papers arrived, and the horrible hormones of early menopause kicked in; and about 16 years earlier (and beyond), when Grace felt like the "amazing Grace" that her TV producers dubbed her, when she first met her husband, got pregnant, but then put her career on hold to be a mother, etc. I thought this was an excellent way to structure the book - while Grace's current bad day is the "point" of the story, it would have been exhausting to read many chapters in a row of this, as everything feels so bleak at times, but also veers a bit into the zany with some of the ill-advised decisions she makes. But slowly building an understanding of how she got to that point made it pretty propulsive reading (for what I would say is a bit more character-driven of a book) and also very real in terms of her emotions and her struggles with being a mother and a woman and a wife along the way. It actually reminded me a tad of Lessons in Chemistry, with the brilliant woman (this one in linguistics, rather than chemistry) who has an unexpected TV gig and pregnancy/single parent-hood, faces sexism in her roles, and doesn't always have a lot of ease in getting along with others. I also got vibes of Maria Semple (Where'd You Go Bernadette and Today Will Be Different) with the tone/foibles and the emphasis on motherhood and the character having a bit of a breakdown in dealing with all of the demands of being a woman. I will add a trigger warning for traumatic parental grief - it got deeper and more emotional than I expected, but it was so well done. I grew to really love Grace and I appreciated so much what this book had to say about womanhood, redemption, and - yes - grace.

Grace Adams has finally had it! She's tired of giving, giving, giving to others, only to end up in her mid-forties about to be divorced, and estranged from her daughter who is turning sweet-16 today. She's tired of being put on the back burner in life and being seen less and less as the years pass. She's just had enough of it all. This day will be different, you can bet on that! She will be seen and heard and noticed.

The story takes place over the course of one day in London, with two other timelines also in play: 2003 through 2018 covering Grace meeting Ben, and the ups and downs of their life together, and four-months to two-months prior to meltdown covering her eroding relationship with her daughter.

This book will resonate with many women/wives/mothers who understand what it's like to do your best and have it deemed not be good enough. Who valiantly struggle with juggling all the "must do's" only to have them come crashing down around you. It's a wonderful story about maintaining your sense of self in the intimacy of marriage, and the complexities of motherhood. It's poignant, it's funny, it's sad, it's heartbreaking, and uplifting all at the same time.

It's very hard to believe this is a debut novel; I definitely want to read more by Fran Littlewood!

My thanks to Henry Holt & Company for allowing me to access a DRC via NetGalley. This novel is scheduled for publication on 9/5/23. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

While I currently have small children, I can imagine the stress of teenagers being much like the chaos of this novel. I'm a sucker for perimenopausal characters. The time hops were sometimes a little disorienting, but otherwise it's an enjoyable and relatable read.

Not sure why this new trend in writing books has authors jumping from one year ago to four months before then back to the present. This is so confusing and makes reading the book more of a chore. What has happened to the linear method of telling a story? As to Amazing Grace Adams, it was entertaining (even with the jumping around) and nearly every mother can identify with the trials of having a teen daughter, but the ending deteriorated into totally unbelievable events. I don't think it was necessary to make Grace a law breaker to show she cared about her daughter.

Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced reader's copy. The following is my own thoughts about the book.

While cute story several parts are predictable. It does have a twist but its hard to follow and comes out of nowhere. This is a quick read and I did enjoy it. I do not consider this book over the top.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the E-Arc copy of this novel. I really enjoyed this novel. It is realistic, funny, and frankly true to heart.

- You know when a plot twist is earned? That was not this book. The dead child, Bea, was a poorly written plot device. It is a great example of the dreaded plot twist mistake that will annoy the reader instead of exciting/engaging them. Revealed way too late in the story when it was important to the dynamics.
-It would have been MUCH better, a more poignant story, if the author would’ve examined how the death of one child led to the parents, and their marriage, unraveling. And how only focusing on themselves and drowning in their own demons led to neglecting their surviving daughter’s needs and grief, which led to her being groomed by her teacher. That they believe they're good, average parents on the surface, but failed to give Lotte the emotional support she needed because they were lost in themselves.
-The three timelines were VERY confusing. Should've had two timelines, at most. One where the parents meet and their story, Second in present time where they’re lost in their own worlds and ignoring their daughter’s needs (especially since they don’t think they’re doing so, they can’t see it. Can't see their own shortcomings. No parent can until its usually too late). The first timeline would've
The author didn't bring out the depths and complexity this story needed.


Not a strong enough start. The beginning needs to be catchy in this day and age, and I just felt bored and uncomfortable reading about her hot, sweat-inducing car ride. I want to be grabbed from the first page. Not the best prose, either. The ending of the first chapter made me cringe: 'she smiles at him. With her mouth, not her eyes. "Deal with it," she whispers. She just sounds off and inconsiderate to me because despite everything Grace goes though, I never feel any empathy for her. The author has to foster that. A bit of backstory was given in terms of the call she avoided with her sister, but not in an intriguing (empathy-inducing) way.
So, already not off to a good start. But I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.

The book was ambitious, but not as tightly woven together as it needed to be. It reads like a debut.
People may complain that this book may have tried to do too much (too many themes), but that's not the problem. The problem is that it didn't do it well with the depth it deserved. Many classic, epic novels deal with a myriad of themes, but the difference here is that they are able to weave all those themes so effortlessly. The plot and writing was a bit cluttered. The three timelines were messy.
However, I have hopes for this author's coming works.
Also
- messy; hard to follow
- too much telling; not enough showing
-cringey sentences and dialogue at times

I began enjoying this book. The writing was easy to read, and the plot was going in a good direction! Some of the foreign words made it difficult at points to read, but after learning what they were I was okay. It then got kind of messy with too many things to focus on. I’m not a huge fan of third person narration either. Unfortunately, I think with too many themes, it made it confusing and hard to follow with not enough depth. I would definitely try another book by Littlewood!

Every character kept telling us how amazing Grace is but the author forgot to show us! Grace is in the midst of perimenopause, dealing with a marriage break-up and a teenager who seems to have gone off the rails. And Grace has checked out of life.
This is a multi timeline story that never gives us a glimpse of Grace when she isn’t out of control of her emotions. Her present day is so full of trepidation and chaos, it became painful to read.
I would have loved the author to have used the past moments to show us Grace in lighter moments. When Ben first meets her we get a glimpse of Super Grace but not enough. The rest of Grace is obsessive, shaky, self-centered and hard to route for. There is a constant shadow throughout this book that I felt needed a contrast. Lottie was written brilliantly and is very remarkable when you realize the poor girl had basically brought herself up. Grace may try to tell us she has been there for Lottie but all her actions suggest otherwise. Lottie is a very sweet girl under that teenage grump!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

It may be because Grace and I share a timeline, but my heart really went out to her.

Grace is a complex woman. Now separated from her husband and estranged from her daughter on her 16 year old birthday, she's just really had enough with life's struggles and determines that she's going to bring her daughter a cake no matter what.

We get glimpses into all of Grace's timelines, from meeting her husband through to present day. We see all the pieces of life that have brought her to the woman she is today.

I felt like most things in this book really worked for me, but some of the timelines were hard to fit into place for me, so four stars for an otherwise superb read.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

This book started off slow for me but I got into it in the middle. The unraveling of the story (and of Grace) pulled me in. In fact i feel like it’s what all moms, and possibly all women, feel like at some point or other. Or maybe that’s just me and I’m on the verge of Grace Adam-ing.

Even though it was a little far fetched at some points, it was entertaining.

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

I had a hard time following this book. I did not enjoy it. I received an advanced copy and I appreciate that the publisher and NetGalley do this for readers.

A very intense story, but I found myself very frustrated with not only the pattern of the novel, but how self sabotaging and frustrated the main character is in the story. There is a lot that you aren't told at the beginning of the novel and as each crisis occurs you wonder how Grace is going to get through it or is she going to lose it. And all I kept thinking was why no one was able to better communicate to each other and why the story had to keep changing its timeframe. It was a interesting way to tell a story, but I don't think it added anything to the plot.
I was glad there is some resolution in the story, but what you have to go through in the novel is pure agonizing and the ending is to quick.

I want to thank Henry Holt & Company, Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel.

I enjoyed this one - messy and complicated and funny all at once. A story about raising teenagers, dealing with divorce and loss. Heavy topics but done in a way that leaves you with Hope.

Really enjoyed this book by Fran Littlewood. Who hasn't wanted to just turn their car off in a traffic jam and walk away. The multiple timelines flushed out the backstory of her relationships and how they came to be in the state they were in. Being a mid-40s woman, I also "appreciated" her characterization and description of middle age woes. Will recommend to my friends for a good summer read.

I was not prepared for the emotional journey I went on while reading this book.
Author Fran Littlewood gives care in delicately constructing the character of Grace Adams.
She takes her time in allowing the reader to see all of the layers that Grace has, piecing her story together through an interesting combination of three separate timelines, one of which provides us with the rich history of Grace and her most important relationships: Her child and her husband.
Reading about Grace will allow you to laugh with her, cringe with her, yell for her, worry about her, crying with her, and hopefully come through her story a changed reader because of her.
If you're in the mental headspace to allow for a touching, moving, and emotional story, I highly recommend Amazing Grace Adams.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I don’t understand the hype with this book. I found the story to be hard to follow at times when mid chapter grace would have flashback memories. Totally unlikely chain of events. The ending did make it all come together but not sure the journey was worth it for me.

First, I want to thank NetGalley for the advanced copy of Amazing Grace Adams. I read this book quickly because I wanted to finish it - I wanted this book to be over. That is not a good thing....

I found the multiple time lines VERY confusing. While Grace, the main character, was suffering from a mental breakdown I still found her very unsympathetic.

I would have given this 2 stars but in the last quadrant of the book the reader learns about something from Grace's past that is detrimental to her mental health. The book took on more life after that.

I actually won this ARC in a raffle and I thought it was very good. I thought the main character was very relatable. How often do we wish that we could just drive away from our life? Maybe start over somewhere else, or just needing a few days to ourselves. I enjoyed this one!